EAST ST. LOUIS – TaRyan Martin scored three touchdowns, two by running, while Larevious “Fresh” Woods scored twice, and quarterback Kendall Lyons had two touchdown passes as East St. Louis defeated Oak Lawn Richards 48-0 in the IHSA Class 6A football playoff semifinals, played Saturday afternoon at Clyde C. Jordan Memorial Stadium.
With the win, the Flyers return to the final next Saturday afternoon, where they’ll play Geneva, who upset defending champion Cary Grove 28-26 in the other semifinal.
The Flyers left no question who was in charge against the Bulldogs, as East Side went out to a 21-0 first quarter lead, and led at halftime 28-0. Kortez Rupert scored on the Flyers first possession, hauling in a 48-yard touchdown pass from Lyons after 64 seconds to give East Side a 7-0 lead, doubling the lead on a seven-yard touchdown run from Woods, then Amir Tillman ran in from nine yards out late in the period to give the Flyers a 21-0 lead. Martin took in a 14-yard pass for another touchdown with 5:59 left in the first half to put East St. Louis ahead 28-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Martin ran in from 43 yards away, and Woods scored his second touchdown on a one-yard run, but the conversion was missed, leaving the Flyers ahead 41-0, but triggering the running clock rule with 5:39 left in the third. East Side got its final touchdown on a 65-yard run from Martin, his third score of the game, to make the final 48-0.
The Flyers and Vikings meet each other for the Class 6A championship next Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal.
